Framed
by RisenAngel17
Summary: When Sophie is dropped into this crazy world, she adjusts very well. That is, until the Witch of the Waste frames her for the murder of one of the Hatters at her friend's hat shop and is forced to work as a cleaning lady for Wizard Howl. NO LEMONS HERE!
1. Chapter 1

First Ever Fan Fic! (...meh)

**What's happening? I really have no idea what I'm doing, or where I'm really going with this story. But it is my first and I hope I'm doing okay…or not. Whatever; basically, the story is practically the same, only Sophie is actually from what you would call 'our world'. Discover Sophie's real story in this weird twisted version of HMC (from both the movie and the book, as in the movie, they don't mention a lot of the characters names, so I had to look it up in Wikipedia) WARNING, RATED M FOR PSYCHOLOGICALLY TWISTED STUFF! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

Chapter 1

I stood on the edge of the cliff, trying my hardest to resist the urge to step back from the man in front of me, which would ultimately result to my death.

"You have nowhere to go, Sophie," he said. "Just give up now and come back-come on now, you don't have to get hurt by any of this. If you come here now, you won't be punished, I promise,"

I looked at the man, then looked at the sheer drop behind me that looked to be about four stories high and would probably kill me. But then I looked back at the man, and though of where I had been for almost three years now. And suddenly, death didn't seem so bad.

"It doesn't have to be this way," he said.

I closed my eyes, knowing my decision and prayed to myself.

"Come on, Sophie," he was getting closer…it had to be done now.

"Alright," I said softly, trying to make it appear as if I surrendered. But just as he was reaching for me, I fell backwards towards the ground…hoping I would somehow survive this and be able to run...

I felt myself land and for a minute, all I saw was bright white. I took one breath…two, then three. Then I opened my eyes and saw a bright blue sky with small, puffy clouds slowly blowing to the right.

_But it had been night time just a few minutes ago, hadn't it? _I thought. _Am I…am I dead? _

"Excuse me, miss,"

I looked and saw a small looking girl with bright blonde hair and big eyes and was wearing what looked like a pink version of a maid's uniform. "Are you alright?" she asked me.

"Where…where am I? Am I dead?"

"What? This is Market Chipping. And from what I can tell, you seem very much alive,"

"Where is that at?" I said. I looked and realized I seemed to be in some alley…but I was just in the woods a few minutes ago…

"Are you alright? Why don't you come with me, you seem confused,"

"Umm…yeah, that might help," It also might help wrap my head around this as well.

"I'm Lettie Hatter,"

"Sophie," I mumbled. "…just Sophie…"

_2 years later…_

"Crap!" I shook my pointer finger and saw a tiny drop of blood ooze out after accidentally pricking my finger with the sewing pin. I put the finger in my mouth and sucked for a few minutes to wait for the bleeding to stop before going back to sewing the plastic berries onto the hat.

"Sophie?"

I turned to Mary, one of the other hatters at the store.

"The girls and I are going into town-why don't you join us? You've done enough work for today,"

"No, I'd better finish this," I told them, smiling. "You guys go and have fun,"

Mary didn't say anything for a few seconds, and then smiled. "Well, suit yourself…"

I turned back to the hat and started sewing again, trying my hardest to avoid the pin with my fingers. "If I prick myself one more time, I'll have to bandage all of my fingers again…"

"Alright, girls, let's go," I heard Mary say outside.

"Is Sophie coming?" one of the other hatters asked.

"No, she's busy," Mary said.

"I heard her yelp-did she get blood on one of the hats again? If Mrs. Hatter sees another hat with blood on it, she said she'd throw Sophie out before she knew what hit her,"

That's one thing I hated about this stupid store-the girls here talked as if I the door wasn't open (which it was).

"That's enough, we're leaving now," Mary said. She was the only one who even tried to stick up for me.

"Hey, look! It's Howl's Castle!"

"What, where?"

"Howl?"

Curious, I peeked out the window in front of me, trying to see what they were talking about. But all I could see was a faint black blob behind all of the clouds that covered the Wastes.

"He's gone," one girl said.

"No, he's just hiding from all those planes,"

"Hey, did you hear about Martha? They say Howl took her heart!"

"What? Now I'm scared to go outside!"

"Oh, don't worry; he only preys on _pretty_ girls,"

The girls burst into a fit of giggles, then headed outside.

I looked curiously out the window, and then went back to my work. _Guess that means I won't have to worry about some random Wizard stealing my heart, right? _I thought. I'd heard random things about the infamous wizard, Howl. He was extremely handsome and apparently liked to eat the hearts of pretty young women (one girl said it was what kept him so young and handsome looking).

After a few minutes I managed to finish the hat and put it on one of the wooden head miniatures and thought of what to do next.

_What I need is a new situation…I can't mooch off of Lettie's mother forever. _

It had been two years since I was randomly dropped into this world (well, dropped is a nice word for it, isn't it?) and Lettie had set me up with a job as a hatter for her mother. Lettie insisted I stay as long as I need to, but it's been two years already. I was better acquainted now, and could probably make it on my own in this world.

_That's the way mom raised me…_thinking of my mom made me think of a lot of things which resulted in me shaking the thoughts out of my head. _No use in dwelling in the past…I'm here now, and that's all that matters._

Thinking about it made me decide to see if Lettie had seen any job opportunities yet and if I could officially 'start' my new life here. Going around, I grabbed my cloak and changed into one of my regular dresses. I tried wearing the stupid dresses that stooped down past your ankles they had here for a few weeks, but they were itchy and I kept tripping on the skirt. Getting fed up, I just started making my own clothes (it helped that one of the hatters taught me how to sew) so I started wearing dresses of my own design. The one I wore today was a white dress that reached past my knees with blue flowing-like patterns.

Most people called me crazy, but whenever they did, I would just look at them and say 'on the contrary…I happen to be the only one here _not _crazy,' at least that's what it felt like.

I headed out, making sure to lock the shop before I left. Then I headed into town, grabbing one of the cable cars into the main part of town.

I started heading down and…_ah, crap, where did Lettie say she started working again? _I pulled out the piece of paper that listed directions to the bakery and started heading in that direction. When I saw the enormous crowd gathered in the street for the parade, I decided to take a short cut through some of the alleys.

Walking along, I noticed soldiers with guns and uniforms besides them and I quickly pulled my hood up and continued on, not wanting to be seen. I continued down the pathway, trying to make out where I was when I looked up and saw blue.

"Hey, looks like a little mouse lost its way," two blue dressed soldiers blocked my way.

"Actually, I happen to know where I'm going, so if you'll let me by…"

"We're about to go get a cup of tea-care to join us?"

"No thanks, I'm busy," I tried to step around the soldier, but the other one moved to block my way and squinted down to see under the hood of my cloak.

"She's pretty cute for a mouse," he said. "Why don't you take the cloak off, show off your 'cuteness'?"

Finally getting pissed off, I decided to scare them off with my rapid tongue. "I don't like #$!% who hassle innocent women, now get the #$! out of my way!"

"Hey, you've got quite a mouth for who's supposed to be a lady…maybe we should teach her some manners,"

I was about to reach for my pocket knife that I kept in my cloak pocket for emergencies when I felt a hand on my shoulder and I was yanked to someone's side. "There you are, sorry I'm late,"

I froze a little, because the voice was deep…just like…

_No…it was impossible, there was no way…_

"Hey, we're busy here," the soldier said.

"Are you really?" the man next to me said. "It looked to me like the two of you were just leaving," Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move his pointer finger, and suddenly the soldiers began marching away as if they had no control over what they were doing.

"Don't hold it against them, they're not all that bad…" I looked to see who it was who technically saved me and…

Holy. Shiznight.

Super. Hot. Guy. Right. Next. To. Me.

He obviously wasn't who I at first thought it sounded like, for which I was grateful. This guy was ten times more handsome; so handsome, I wanted to duck my head and tell him I wasn't worthy of being in his presence.

"Where to?" he said in a voice that actually made me shiver a little. "I'll be your escort this evening…"

"I-it's okay, I can walk myself, I'm just going to the bakery…"

"I'm being followed," he said suddenly. "Act normal,"

Wait, what? I quickly followed my instinct and tried to act normal, but I was pretty sure the look on my face was one of sheer terror. For a few seconds we just walked like that, then I heard a strange noise behind us.

"Sorry," he said. "I got you involved,"

"Wait, what?" I said, but was immediately distracted by some black looking blobs forming in front of us.

"This way," the man pulled me to the side and started running and I just ran with him, somehow knowing that these black blobs were bad. More blobs formed in front of us and before I could think, the man told me to hold on and we were propelled into the air.

"What…how…" was all I could say.

"Straighten your legs and walk like you normally would," he told me. I did so and discovered that it was like I could walk on air. It was amazing!

"Not so hard, right?" he said. We continued walking on air over people and the parade going on. I think I saw some people look up and point at me, but I was too distracted by both the insaneness and the magic of how this was possible. I knew magic was possible here, but I'd never actually…participated in it!

"Very nice," he said softly and continued onto the balcony of the bakery. He landed on the railing and with the grace of what felt like a goddess, I landed on the balcony.

"I'll draw them off," he told me. "Wait a little before going outside,"

"O…okay," I said.

"That's my girl," he said before flying off the balcony into the crowd. I immediately went forward to see, but he was gone in the blink of an eye.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Sophie!" I looked and saw Lettie running towards me.

I don't know how long I had stood there, just staring into space. But now Lettie was here and talking to me...guess I should pay attention…

"What?" I said.

"Sophie! Someone said you just flew down onto our balcony,"

I just stood there. "It wasn't a dream, then?"

I was in shock; the next few minutes were nothing but a blur. All I really knew was that Lettie had dragged me downstairs into one of the storerooms just off the kitchen and was demanding I tell her everything. So, I explained the stupid soldiers trying to hit on me, then how the hot guy had tried managed to save me from weird black blobs.

"Wow…" Lettie said after my story was finished. "He must have been a wizard…"

"I guess…aren't wizards supposed to be mean, though? That's what everyone's always saying, and this guy saved me…"

"Of course he did, he was trying to steal your heart!" Lettie said. "You are so lucky, Sophie, if that wizard were Howl, he would have eaten it,"

"No, from what the girls say, he only does that to 'beautiful' girls,"

"Don't give me that, you need to be more careful!"

"I am 100% careful," I said. "How was I supposed to know some creepy soldiers were in the alley?"

"Let's not forget the wizard who tried to eat your heart! Why didn't you just cut through the crowd?"

"I don't do crowds very well," I said.

Just then, one of the boxes on the side moved and a guy's head poked through the space. "Hey, Lettie, the chocolate éclairs are done,"

"I'm coming, give me a minute," Lettie said.

"Oh, right!" I said, remembering the reason I had come. "Have you found any jobs for me?"

"Is that why you came here? Really, Sophie, you are more than welcome to say with us…"

"Lettie, you and I both know your mom is getting sick of seeing blood on hats,"

"But you've been getting better though, I don't even see the blood stains on your dresses!"

"That's because I hide them really well, now have you found anything or not?"

Lettie sighed. "Just a second," she said. She walked away for a few minutes, then came back with a small piece of paper. "It's tight, these days-a lot of businesses want people with experience. Plus, we're at war now,"

"Tell me something I don't know," I said. "So, what's the damage?"

"As far as I've heard, there are no openings in Market Chipping…but there are a few jobs in Porthaven,"

I took the piece of paper and looked it over. "There are only two here,"

"Like I said, it's tight these days,"

"Okay, well, what's Carmichael's Place? Is that a restaurant?"

"Well…more like a bar, really…"

I glared. "What kind of a bar?"

Lettie kind of blushed and looked away. "The bad kind,"

"Then why'd you write it down?"

"I didn't, one of the girls here was making a trip there, so I asked her if she would look for jobs for inexperienced people and write them down…I guess she decided that was one of them,"

"Well, obviously, that one's out of the question," I said and looked at the other one. "All it says is 'Cleaning Lady' with an address…is there nothing they know about the employer?"

"She said it was just something she heard on the street,"

I looked at the paper, thinking. "I guess that's my best bet then…"

"Look, don't make any rash decisions yet, okay? Will you just take a few days and think it over?"

I sighed. "Fine, fine…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was dusk by the time I got back to the hat shop; the store had closed for the night, the parade had finished and all the other girls had gone home or to bed.

Unlocking the door, I went inside, relocked the door and lit a candle so I could see what I was doing. I was untying my cloak when I heard the bell above the door chime.

A very big, tall woman wearing purple was approaching the front desk.

"I'm sorry," I said. "The shop's closed now,"

The woman looked around for a few seconds. "What a tacky shop-I've never seen such tacky little hats," she turned and looked at me. "Yet, you're by far the tackiest thing here…"

I felt myself prickle a little bit at the insult, but I was too tired and windblown from what happened today to make any comebacks or witty retorts. "I'm sorry our hats do not appease your tastes," I said, remembering how Mary had used the word 'appeased' one time to one of our customers. "I know of a really good hat store in Kingsbury that we sometimes do business with. If you would like, I can give you their address,"

The woman just stared at me. "I do not have time to travel all the way to Kingsbury just to purchase a hat,"

"Well, then," I said. "I'm afraid I don't know of any other hat shops in the area, I'm still getting used to it. But either way, we're closed now, so if you could excuse me please…" I turned, not really caring if she decided to leave or stay because I was so tired. I was about to leave when I tripped over something. "What the…?"

Looking with the dim light from the candle, I could faintly see something wet on the ground…was that…_blood?_ I looked and discovered what I had tripped on.

"Oh my-Mary!" I shrieked. Mary was lying in a pool of her own blood, her lifeless eyes staring at me, as if wanting to ask me for help but knowing it was far too late.

"Have you seen my lovely 'gift'?" the woman said.

I looked at the woman in disbelief. "What did…how did…why-"

"Oh, but I didn't do anything…_you _did,"

"Wh-what?"

"At least, that is what the police will think when they see your fingerprints and traces of hair on the knife used to stab her. Don't bother pleading your innocence, every judge in town will be itching to lock you up and throw away the key, I'll make sure of it,"

"What? Wait, I don't-"

Just then, I heard sirens in the distant, followed by someone shrieking 'murder' outside.

And that's when I knew I was in trouble.

"Next time, try being a little more discreet when you rendezvous with a wizard-that man has powerful enemies,"

"Powerful what?" Sirens appeared in front of the store, flashing bright lights into my eyes.

"Well, that's my cue-oh, before I forget? My regards to Howl," A slight puff of smoke appeared and just like that, the woman was gone.

"In there!" a voice said. "In the hat shop, the newcomer has gone mad!"

The newcomer…that was me!

_Don't just stand there, RUN!_

I immediately grabbed my cloak off the counter and ran around the corner to the court yard just as I heard the bell above the door jingle.

_Where do I go? Where do I go…back door! _

I ran through the kitchen to the back door and headed out into the night.

"She's escaping! After her, quickly!"

I don't know where I was going; I just ran. Ran so fast, my heart was on fire and my lungs were aching. All I could think was I wanted to stop, but knowing I couldn't.

_You can't stop, they'll catch you! Keep going, keep going! _

I kept going. I ran across streets, down alleys, trying to get the sound of sirens to escape my ears.

_Got to escape, got to escape…_

Just then, I saw a familiar bakery…

_Lettie!_

I ran to the back entrance where most of the workers lived and pounded on the door, begging that they hadn't heard about what had happened yet.

A tired looking woman opened the door; I think she was Lettie's mentor.

"I need to talk to Lettie," I said, out of breath. "Please, it's urgent!"

The woman must have seen the fear in my eyes, because she left and a few minutes later, a tired Lettie appeared at the doorway.

"Sophie?" she said.

"I need to talk to you in private, _now!_"

Lettie stood there before saying that we should go up to her room above the kitchen. I followed Lettie to her room and practically collapsed on her bed, trying to catch my breath.

"Sophie, what's happened? What's going-"

"I'm in trouble, Lettie," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"Some woman-she came into the shop-she killed, she murdered…"

"Slow down, Sophie, you're not making any sense,"

I took a deep breath and tried to speak slowly. "A woman, she, she came into the shop. Mary, she killed Mary,"

"What?" Lettie said.

"I don't know how, I don't know why, Lettie, she framed me for it,"

"What?"

"She framed me, Lettie, the police are after me!"

"What? But why-"

"You believe me, don't you?" I said. "I would never have killed Mary, she was the one person in the store I liked, please don't tell me you think I killed her!" I couldn't stop the tears from flowing down my face as terror, panic and misery pressed into my head like a bulldozer.

"Of course not, Sophie, I know you, you would never do that!" Lettie pulled me into her arms and hugged me.

"What do I do, Lettie?" I sobbed. "What do I do?"

"We'll figure this out, Sophie, don't worry," Lettie said. "This woman, what did she look like?"

"She was tall, kind of big looking. She was completely covered in purple…and I think she had red hair,"

"Was she a witch?"

"She disappeared in a puff of smoke, so I'm guessing she was,"

"The Witch of the Waste!" Lettie said. "She must have seen you with that wizard! That's it, I'm sure if we explain to the police-"

"I don't think they'll listen, Lettie," I said. "She said she'd make sure they'll be itching to lock me up and throw away the key,"

Lettie stood up and began pacing. "What do we do?" she murmured to herself. "I could try to talking to them, but I doubt it would make a difference…you have nowhere else to go…except…" Lettie suddenly snapped her fingers, showing she had an idea.

"What?" I asked. "Come on, let's hear it!"

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Lettie disappeared out the door for a few minutes, and then came back with a small bottle and scissors. "We'll change your hair; they'll be looking for a girl with reddish hair. We'll just change it to a dark brown. If anyone asks, your name is…what? Danielle, Daniella, Mayella, May, Moll, Molly, Maren, Karen, Carrie…Carrie!" She pulled me over to a chair by a vanity and sat me down and got to use the scissors on my hair before I had a chance to object. "If anyone asks, your name is Carrie…Carrie…"

"White?" I suggested.

"That's good, Carrie White…you grew up in the Wastes, but wanted to go out and be on your own. You heard about that cleaning lady job in Porthaven, so you decided to start there. If anyone says you look similar to Sophie, just say it's a coincidence and try to drop the subject," She finished, and I saw my hair was no longer almost to my waste but now up to my shoulders.

I didn't have time to say anything before I was pulled into her bathroom and began having stuff that smelled like chocolate mousse smothered into my hair.

"You can't wear your dresses anymore, they'll know it's you. I have a few dresses that are about you're size, you can borrow them, okay?"

I felt like groaning to myself for the fact I was going to have to wear itchy and bothersome dresses.

"Don't give me that look, we don't have time," She let the stuff sit in my hair for a few minutes before making me dunk my head under the sink so she could rinse it. "Good thing Elsa bought the fast acting stuff," she mumbled before taking me out and towel drying my hair.

Just then, there was a loud knock downstairs and we both froze. After a few minutes, Lettie's mentor called "Lettie, the police are here, they want to talk to you,"

"Oh, no," I whispered.

"I'll tell them you said you were headed into Kingsbury, it might buy you some time. I'll keep in touch with you; maybe you can come back after things calm down," Lettie then turned to the door and yelled sluggishly. "You've got to be kidding me! Ugh, I'll be right there," she turned back to me. "They'll think I went back to sleep after I was done talking to you," She rummaged through her drawers and through a blue dress at me. I quickly stripped and pulled the dress on, thinking to myself that I was lucky this one only reached a few inches above the ankles so at least I wouldn't trip constantly.

"How do I get to Porthaven?" I said.

"Go into the Wastes, there should be a path that should lead you straight there. There's a farmer who lives on the border, he might tell you more specific directions. If he asks, tell him you're looking for your grandmother who lives out there,"

"Okay," I said.

"Lettie?" a voice said.

"I'm coming, hang on!" Lettie called and turned back to me. "Crawl out through the window and head east, that will get you to the Wastes,"

"Okay," I said and began crawling out the window.

"Sophie?" Lettie said.

"What?"

"Good luck,"

I nodded and dropped down to ground level and began heading east towards the Wastes.

_When I wanted to start a 'new' life here, _I thought. _This isn't what I had in mind. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"If you stay on this path, you'll get to Porthaven by nightfall," I had been wandering the Wastes most of the following day. I didn't dare stop and sleep, for fear I would get caught. I felt exhausted, but I kept pushing, and doing that had caused me to ask directions from a hermit in the Wastes. "I wouldn't go any farther, though, it's dangerous for someone so young,"

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself," I began heading down the path he had pointed to, when he stopped me.

"Here," he said. He handed me a small loaf of bread with some cheese.

I smiled at him. "Thank you," and continued along the path.

. . .

I only stopped once along the way to eat the bread and cheese, but I continued walking. When the sun started setting, I caught sight of the sea and began to smell salt water.

"Finally," I said and continued down towards the town. I didn't actually reach the town until the sun had already set. Pulling out the piece of paper that Lettie gave me, I looked at the address.

I asked a few people and managed to find the place. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting-

Wizard Jenkins

A wizard…why, of all things, did it have to be a _wizard? _

I thought of that bar; I could swallow my pride and whatever dignity I had left and just do whatever they told me.

At that moment, a few women walked by me. It was pretty obvious what their occupation was; let's just put it at that.

"That answers that statement," I said to myself and immediately walked up the cement stairs to the front door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked and waited.

The door opened, and a small little man with a long beard and cloak appeared. "I'm sorry, we're closed,"

"Wait," I said. "Someone told me that you're in need of a cleaning lady, and I'm here to apply for the job,"

The old guy stared at me, as if sizing me up.

"You look a little young to be a cleaning lady,"

"I need a job and a place to sleep," I told him. "It was either this or Carmichael's Place,"

The guy stared at me some more. "I guess you have a point; do come in,"

I stepped into the place and walked up the small stairs. Immediately, I saw that my work was cut out for me.

Cobwebs practically covered the entire ceiling and most of the walls, the small table in the center of the room was covered in books and papers, the fireplace was overflowing with leftover ashes, dirt covered the floor, the sink to the right was piled up with so many dishes that a few looked like they were on the brink of falling off.

And to top it all off? SPIDERS.

"Do you mind spiders?" the man asked.

"Not at all," I lied. I pulled the hood of my cloak off and shook my hair out slightly.

"Are you the Wizard Jenkins?" I asked.

"No, my name's Markle," the man pulled his hood off and his thick beard disappeared revealing the face of a little boy.

"What-why were you wearing a disguise?" I asked.

"I'm practicing my magic," he said.

"Be careful, or you'll scare her off,"

"Who said that?" I said.

"That's Calcifer," Markle pointed to the fireplace and I saw the small fire peeking out of the log had eyes.

"Holy crap!" I yelled.

"Holy what?" Markle said.

"Uh, never mind," I said. _I will never get used to this place…_ I turned back to the fire. "Are you Wizard Jenkins?" I asked.

"What did that kid just call me?"

"Oh, right," I said feeling a little silly. "So, then where is, um, Jenkins?"

"He's out right now," Markle said.

"Markle, go on up to bed," Calcifer said. "I'll take care of…what was your name?"

"S-um, Carrie. Carrie White,"

"Carrie,"

"Okay, good night," Markle went up the stairs.

There was a lone chair in front of the fireplace and I practically sank down into it.

"Man, are you in deep," Calcifer said.

I paused. "Pardon me?"

"Framed for murder is tough; you'll never get to prove your innocence, that's for sure,"

I couldn't help but gawk. "How did you know that?"

"I'm a fire demon; I've got a nose for these spells, and yours smells like a mixture between blood, sweat and small trace of magic,"

"You…you said I'd never get to prove my innocence?"

"Whoever cast this one on you wanted to make sure you went to jail for good,"

I groaned and sat back. "Great, so let me guess, you're going to turn me in?"

"Nah, I'm a fire demon, I don't snitch. But…maybe I can break the spell for you,"

I immediately sat up. "Wait, you can do that?"

"Sure I can, you just got to do a little something for me,"

I sighed. "Always a catch…"

"I'm under contract here; I'm forced to drive this place, and Howl treats me like his slave,"

"I don't know if I can-wait a minute, Howl? I thought this was Jenkin's place!"

"It is,"

"So, what, do they live together?"

"No, they're the same person,"

I paused again. "Huh?"

"It's a long story, one that's not mine to tell and it's really none of your business anyway. But look, if you can find a way to break this contract I'm under with Howl, then you can break my spell. Then I can break the spell on you; deal?"

"Hell no, I'm not making a deal with a fire demon," I got up and turned to leave.

"Well, guess its Carmichael's Place for you,"

…Damn it.

"Fine, it's a deal," I said.

"There's an old sofa behind that curtain under the stairs, you can sleep there,"

_Sleep. _

I immediately headed for the sofa, just ready for a good night's sleep.

"Is your name really Carrie White?"

"Huh? Oh, no, it's not,"

"Okay, then what is your real name?"

"…Sophie,"

"…Sophie…?"

"Just Sophie,"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I was awoken by a loud knocking. Stretching, I sat up on the sofa and stretched my neck. I sat for a few minutes, marveling my new hair. Its former reddish brown was now a dark brown, where it had gone almost down to my waist was now a few inches above my shoulders. I had to admit, the new hairstyle felt a lot lighter and I actually liked it.

_Should have gotten it cut sooner…_

"Porthaven door!"

"Stand by!"

I pulled the curtain back and began to pull on my shoes. Markle had pulled on his disguise and was answering the door. I looked around and noticed two things-one, my dress was completely wrinkled after sleeping in it, because I had never thought about grabbing a nightgown and two, the castle looked ten times worse in the day time.

"Good morning, sir. Is the Wizard Jenkins at home?"

"I'm afraid my master is not currently in; I stand in his stead,"

"An invitation from his majesty, the King; the time for war is upon us and his majesty wants to make sure that every witch and wizard aid our homeland,"

"I will deliver the message to my master,"

Markle closed the door and tugged the hood off his cloak. "Didn't you have any night clothes?"

"No," I said. "When was the last time any of you guys cleaned in here?"

"Can't remember,"

"Clearly,"

There was a jingling where the door was.

"Porthaven door again!"

"Must be a customer," Markle tugged on his hood and went forward. "Stand by,"

I went to look out the window; the place had a nice view of the ocean and I had never been so close to the ocean before. I decided I would enjoy waking up to the sight of the ocean.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I looked and saw a little girl, who I guess was Markle's customer. "Are you a witch?"

I snorted. "Yup, kid, I'm a witch, the witch who cleans,"

The little girl giggled and Markle handed her something and she left.

"Quit telling lies to our customers," Markle said.

"You're wearing a disguise," I pointed out.

"I have to, I'm practicing my magic,"

We were interrupted by the door knocking again.

"Kingsbury door!"

Markle donned his disguise and twisted what looked like the lock for the door and opened it. A man in a red uniform stood there.

"Good day," he said. "Is this the residence of the wizard Pendragon?"

"It is,"

"Wizard Pendragon is to report to the palace at once,"

"I will inform my master,"

I walked forward to the door and looked outside…

"The…this is the imperial city…"

"Move it or lose it," Markle said.

I moved back inside and Markle shut the door. "Don't touch anything," he said before moving on.

Did he honestly expect me to _not _investigate?

I turned the dial to the blue color and opened the door.

Porthaven

I turned the dial to green and again, opened the door.

Thick fog surrounded me with grassy fields…the Wastes?

I turned the dial back to red and opened the door.

Kingsbury

"Knock it off," Markle said.

"What one does the black one lead to?" I asked.

"Only Master Howl knows that," he said. "I'm starved, I need some breakfast; do you want something, Carrie?"

"You mean Sophie," Calcifer piped up.

Markle looked at me. "You lied about your name? Why?"

"Long story," I told him.

I got back up to the main room and folded my arms, observing as Markle dug through some drawers and got out a loaf of bread and cheese. But that had been my meal yesterday and I wanted something else. I quickly noticed a basket with eggs with a small platter that had bacon in it.

"Don't you want bacon and eggs?" I asked.

"Yeah, but Master Howl's not in, so we can't use the fire,"

I snorted "And, what, you think I'm too young to cook too?" I grabbed the eggs and bacon and headed over to the fireplace.

"It doesn't matter if you can cook, Calcifer only obeys Master Howl,"

"We'll see about that," I said. "Calcifer…"

"Forget it, I don't cook! I'm a scary and powerful fire demon," he suddenly stuck a weird orange tongue out at me.

"Maybe a bucket of cold water would fix this," I mused. "Or maybe I should be very informative of a…certain deal…?"

"Hey, that's cheating!"

"What'll it be?" I asked, shoving the pan in his face. He quickly submitted, and I added a few slices of bacon and started cooking them.

"Calcifer, you're doing what she says?" Markle asked.

"Do you have a kettle?" I asked Markle. "I think I would like some tea…"

"Um, yeah, sure," Markle got up to get the kettle when I heard a weird click. "Welcome home, Master Howl. The king's messengers were here; you have to report to the palace as both Pendragon and Jenkins,"

I glanced to see what this Howl would look like…

Holy crap.

It was him. The guy who saved me from the black blobs, the guy who caused the reason I was on the run.

Seriously, looking that good should be illegal.

He slowly approached me and I turned back to my cooking. _Please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me…_

"Calcifer, since when are you so obedient?"

"She bullied me!"

"Not an easy thing to do…and you are…?" he said, addressing me.

_Phew, saved for now. _"Um, I'm Sophie, your new cleaning lady…"

"Aren't you a little young to be a cleaning lady?"

_Aren't you a little too hot for existence? _

"I don't see how age has anything to do with whether or not I can clean,"

"I'll take that," Suddenly, he leaned down and took the small wooden spoon I was using for cooking, his hand brushing mine slightly.

_Damn it, my hands tingling…_

"Hand me six eggs and another bacon slice,"

_What, no please?_

I did as he said and he cracked the eggs, and gave the shells to Calcifer, who ate them. A fire demon who eats egg shells…okay…

"When did you move in?" Howl asked me.

"Last night,"

He glanced at my dress. "Did you sleep in that?"

"I didn't have any night clothes," I suddenly felt a blush coming on and prayed he wouldn't see it.

He just hummed a little. "Markle, plates," he said and moved to the table.

"You're all gonna just eat while I do all the work?" Calcifer yelled.

"Sophie, come have some breakfast!" Markle said.

I went and sat down as Markle shoved a bunch of the books and papers on the table to the side and set the plates down.

"Which one?" Looking, Markle was holding three silverware in front of my face, two spoons and a fork. "You only get one because the rest are dirty,"

_Okay, there's a guy's room and there's just plain filthy._

"So, friends," Howl said. "Enjoy, bon appetite,"

"Bon appetite!" Markle said. "I can't remember the last time we had a real breakfast!"

Markle then proceeded to practically shove the food in his mouth. I couldn't help myself…

"Dear God, Markle, eat like a normal person. You may be a wizard in training but you're not a pig,"

Markle's eyes went as wide as basketballs and his jaw dropped (clearly, no one had ever lectured him about his eating habits before) while Howl just stared at me with this amused look on his face.

_Aw, crap…Am I trying to get myself fired?_

"Err, that's what…my mother would say, anyway…"

Luckily, Howl just turned back to his meal and Markle stopped shoving the food in his mouth like a pig.

"So," Howl said. "What have you got in your pockets, Sophie?"

"…what?" I said.

"Your pockets-what do you have in them?"

Is it necessary to say I felt confused?

"Um, I don't have anything in my pockets, sir,"

"Why don't you check?"

I'm sure the look I gave him was 'come on, really?' but I didn't want to press my luck, so I reached into the pocket in my dress and felt around…and felt a piece of paper and pulled it out.

"…that wasn't there this morning," I said.

"Give it to me,"

I handed Howl the paper, but just as it touched his fingers, a purple puff of smoke emitted from the paper and it fell onto the table. The paper disintegrated into the table, but the marks that were on the paper scorched into the table.

"Scorch marks!" Markle said. "Master Howl, can you read them?"

"That is ancient sorcery," Howl said, and I was shocked to see his hair was…almost prickling. "And powerful too,"

"Is it from the Witch of the Waste?" Markle asked.

"You who have swallowed a falling star, o' heartless man," Howl quoted. "Your heart shall soon belong to me'…that can't be good for the table…" Howl moved his hand along the scorch marks and just like that, they were gone.

"Excuse me, friends, please continue your meal. Calcifer, make hot water for my bath,"

"Great," Calcifer said. "As if moving the castle isn't hard enough,"

I looked and saw Markle was looking at me skeptically. "You're not working for the Witch of the Waste, are you?"

Suddenly, I felt a surge of boiling anger and I started to see red; I guess all of yesterday, I had been in a state of shock, but now I was pissed off more than ever, and I was out for blood.

"I'd never, ever work for that evil, disgusting, manipulative, conniving-"

"We get it!" Calcifer called.

I growled to myself, before snarling at Markle to finish his breakfast before stuffing down mine.

. . .

The rest of that morning was spent mostly in a cleaning rage; I grumbled to myself, to Markle and Calcifer and when I wasn't grumbling I was threatening the bugs, spiders and mice to move before I tore their heads off.

At around noon, Markle asked if I wanted lunch, but I told him to bug off. Man, was I pissed!

I finished mopping the floors and was getting ready to sweep the overflowing ashes from the fireplace.

"Sophie!" Calcifer called. "You have to help, I'm going out! Throw me a log, please!"

Ignoring him, I picked up the half burnt up log with Calcifer clinging to it with a pair of tongs.

"What are you doing? You crazy lady with tongs!"

"Chill, Calcifer, I'm just sweeping out the ashes,"

"I will not _chill, _I'm a fire demon! Wait, where are you going? Come back, Sophie, hurry up, come back!"

Calcifer's voice faded as I dragged the humongous bag of ashes to the street so they could be thrown out. I finished and headed back in to see Calcifer back in his fireplace with two new logs and Howl leaning over him.

"I'd appreciate it," he said. "If you wouldn't torment my friend,"

Markle followed me into the house. "Master Howl, are you leaving now?"

Howl turned the dial to the black color, opened the door and turned back to Markle. "Make sure our cleaning lady doesn't get carried away," was his answer as he left.

Markle looked at me. "Sophie, what did you do?"

"She almost smothered me!" Calcifer called. "If I die, Howl dies too I hope you know!"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped at him. "You're not dead; now leave me alone so I can finish my job, please?"

Just as I was heading up the stairs, Markle immediately stopped me.

"You can't come up here!" Markle said.

I smiled at him in what I think was an evil way. "Whatever you don't want me to clean, you better hide it now…"

"Uh…save my room for last, okay?" Markle hurried up the stairs as I snickered a little to myself.

I finished the first flight of stairs and nearly gasped at the mass of cobwebs that greeted me. "You've got to be kidding me…"

I hesitantly opened the bathroom door and was greeted by the messiest bathroom ever, with clothes, spilled bottles and mold combined with steam to make it smell awful-that was before I glanced the toilet.

"Oh, dear God," I said, gagging to myself. How could anyone live like this?

Thinking to at least get rid of the smell, I went over to open the window and was surprised by the gust of wind. Looking out, what I saw was…indescribable. The castle…was moving! Of course, this was Howl's castle, I suddenly remembered the girls at the hat shop said that it moved at some point or another…I just never thought it was possible until…

"In-incredible!" I yelled. "Calcifer, Calcifer!"

"What?"

"Is that you moving the castle?"

"Of course it is, no one else does any work around here,"

"It's amazing!" I went down the stairs to peek around the corner at him. "No wonder you're always complaining, but it's so amazing! You're incredible, Calcifer, incredible!"

I suddenly thought I wanted a better look and decided to see what else was there.

"You-you really think so?" I heard Calcifer say.

"Of course!" I called, but I don't think he heard me over the sudden burst of what sounded like joyous laughter.

I climbed up another set of stairs to hear Markle shout that he wasn't ready, but I looked at the door that looked like it leaded outside and opened it.

"Oh, a balcony, how cool!" I said as I walked onto it and gazed out into the Wastes. Why was everyone saying it was so scary? The wastes looked absolutely beautiful from up here! Even more with a clear crystal blue lake shining at me.

Markle appeared beside me and smiled at me, obviously happy to see that I could get excited over things that didn't involve cleaning.

"It's beautiful…" I said.

"Yeah," he said. "It's called Star Lake,"

"Hmm…" I hummed for a bit, just admiring the beauty.

After that, Markle and I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and having lunch by Star Lake. I discovered that, even though Markle had lost his parents at an early age and was a wizard's apprentice, he was at most times what he looked like-a ten year old boy. We talked a lot and he talked to me a lot like he would talk to an older sister. He told me about Howl constantly disappearing and how he had come to meet Howl.

Apparently, after Markle's parents died, he was sent to his Aunt, but he hated her so much because she hated him and treated him meanly. So, he ran away to look for work and came across Wizard Jenkin's house and asked Howl to take him on as an apprentice. At first, Howl refused, but Markle refused to leave and just tried to make himself useful.

"For a while, it was like Master Howl didn't even notice me around," Markle told me. "Sure, he would say 'hi' to me and such, but he never paid attention. After about a year, he finally started teaching me a few spells…I don't care how long it takes though, I love working here,"

"How old were you when this happened?" I asked.

"About eight,"

Eight years old? And I thought my life sucked…

I asked about Howl, but Markle said he didn't know much about him, or Calcifer for that matter. Later that night, I decided to talk to Calcifer about this 'deal' of ours.

"What the hell, Calcifer, how am I supposed to break the spell if I have no idea how?" I asked him.

"I gave you a hint,"

"You can't 'give' me a hint without telling me, or I won't figure out it was a hint!"

"Part of the contract is I can't tell anyone about it-if I tell you it's a hint, I'll be telling you how to break it and it won't be a hint!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "Screw it, I'm going to bed…"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The door closing, although softly, was what woke me up in the middle of the night. Ever since I had been cursed or spell casted or whatever you would call it, I started sleeping on edge, small noises such as a lone bug scampering across the floor or Markl dropping a pot would startle me, even when awake.

"Are you okay?" I heard Calcifer ask. "I mean, you smell terrible,"

Was Howl back? I heard a slight growl, like someone was in pain which almost made me pull the curtain back when I heard Calcifer continue. "You shouldn't go flying around like that; soon, you won't be able to turn back into a human,"

Flying around? What did Calcifer mean by 'flying' around? I knew Howl was a wizard, but I thought flying was even impossible to wizards…or was it? I heard a soft thud, followed by "Isn't this great? Sophie put these here for me," Calcifer must have been talking about my idea before I went to bed.

"Howl got you some sleeping clothes," Calcifer had told me. "They're on the couch," The night clothes were nothing but a simple ankle length nightgown that was a soft pink color. I was just great full for anything but my dress.

"Thanks," I said and stacked a few logs by his side. "Here, this way, if your log burns out, you won't have to wake me up and beg me to put another log on the fire,"

"Wha-really?" Calcifer looked at me with his eyes and I found that I still could not get used to a fire that had eyes and could talk. "Wow…Markl or Howl never thought of anything like this,"

"Yeah, well, it's so you can't bug me," I snapped. I really didn't want Calcifer thinking that I was some softie. Thinking of others had been how I was raised, but I didn't want Calcifer, or anyone, knowing that I had a caring soul. I learned that having that kind of reputation proves me as an easy target (and I learned it the hard way).

"This war is terrible," Howl's voice jerked me out of my memory and made me peek through the curtain. Howl was sitting in the lone chair in front of the fireplace, looking extremely beat up and having a tear in his pants. "They've bombed the east side and the northern border…its' all in flames now,"

"I can't stand the fire in gun powder-those dopey guys have absolutely no manners,"

I sat back, listening carefully. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but this might be a clue that would help me break Calcifer's spell, which would then break my own.

"My own kind attacked me," Howl said.

"The Witch of the Waste?"

"No, some hack wizards who turned themselves into monsters for the king,"

Wait…what? The king was having wizards turn themselves into monsters to win the war? Wasn't that kind of…extreme?

"Those wizards are gonna regret that," Calcifer said. "They'll never turn back into humans,"

So, the king was having wizards turned into monsters without any hope of being able to turn back? Lettie always said that our king was a wonderful influence on his people, but I was beginning to wonder just what kind of influence he did have on his kingdom. _This is why everyone loved Democracy in my world _I thought.

"By the time the war is over, they'll never even recall being human," Howl said, making my stomach curl over the cruelty.

"Aren't you supposed to report for the king too?" Calcifer asked.

"Yeah, well…I'm bushed; make me hot water for my bath,"

Howl was avoiding the question, something I had mastered over the few years I've been here-people asking me about where I was from and why I would flinch whenever someone would touch my head or wrists or why I would sometimes wake up crying. I got to be an expert at avoiding subjects and questions, which is how I could always tell when someone else was avoiding something.

"What?" I heard Calcifer ask. "Not again…"

Footsteps approached and I realized quickly that Howl was heading for the couch behind the curtain. As quickly and quietly as I could, I lied back down and closed my eyes. I had already mastered how to look like I was sleeping, so I knew I could fool him. Or could I? Howl seemed pretty smart…

Hearing the curtain pulled back, I did my best to make sure my breathing was even and even wiggled my eyelids a little, trying to make him think I was dreaming.

I felt him stare at me, and just when I was beginning to think I had been caught, I heard him let the curtain fall back and walk upstairs. I thought about trying to go back to sleep, when I heard Calcifer call "You get all that Sophie?"

I pulled the curtain back and sat up. "Do you think he knew I was awake?" I asked.

"I don't think so-he's a lot denser than he looks,"

"So, the king turns wizards into monster? Is that why Howl doesn't want to go to his summons?"

"Something like that," Calcifer said.

"So, what you said about Howl not being able to turn back into human-does this mean he's a type of monster?"

"I can't answer that,"

"So he is a monster," I mumbled, fiddling with a strand of my hair.

"I didn't say that," Calcifer said.

"You didn't say he wasn't," I replied and lied back down on the couch. "So, I guess the stories of him eating other woman's hearts are true…"

"Now, those I can deny," Calcifer said.

I sat back up. "So, they're not true?"

"…well, I guess in a way, they kind of are,"

"In a kind of way?" I thought about it for a few seconds, and then realized what he meant. "You mean he's just a heartbreaker?"

"Something like that…"

I stretched and lied back down. "I'll try to think about it in the morning-good night, Calcifer,"

. . .

While taking inventory last night, I discovered that bacon, eggs and bread was pretty much the only edible food they had in the house. So, I asked Markl to bring some money so we could buy groceries. So, after being awoken by Howl blasting hot water through the pipes, I got dressed and headed outside with Markl in his disguise behind me.

"We'll be back, Calcifer," I said.

"I don't get why we have to go to the market," Markl said. "Master Howl hardly eats anything,"

"That doesn't mean you and I can't eat anything," I said and stared at the ocean. "Wow, it's so beautiful…this is my first time near an ocean,"

"It always looks like that," Markl said.

I went to a stall that sold vegetables and looked for good and ripe tomatoes.

"Here's a few," Markl put them in my basket, but I stopped him.

"Let me see," I took them and discovered one was a little mushy and the other overripe. "They're not good," I put them back and kept looking.

"How can you tell?"

"The feel and appear-"I was suddenly blasted by a memory that I had long forgotten and was so fresh that it felt like I was there.

"_Mom, why do you take so long looking for groceries?" I asked. _

"_Well, I want to make sure I get nice and good tomatoes that won't spoil,"_

"_But how can you tell?" _

_My mom smiled at me, her blonde colored hair making her blue eyes sparkle brightly. "The feel and appearance-if they feel mushy, it means they're overripe. If they look green in some areas, it means they're not ripe yet," _

_Picking up a tomato, I felt it and then held it up to my mom. "How about this?" _

_My mom looked it over, and then smiled. "Wonderful, Sophie," _

"Sophie…Sophie!"

I glanced over and realized that I must have been spacing for a minute because Markl was looking at me curiously. "Are you alright?"

"Um…yeah, sorry,"

"So, what were you saying about tomatoes?"

"Uh…I'll tell you later-pay the man, okay?"

Markl looked confused, but he handed over the money for the vegetables and followed me to the fish stall.

"All our fish were caught fresh this morning," the fisherman said.

"A battleships on fire!" Someone suddenly yelled.

"There're still men aboard!"

People began to run towards the harbor as one man stopped for a few seconds by the stall to yell 'Looks like there's been a serious battle' before running over.

"What happened?" the fisherman yelled. "Sorry, lady, we're closed," he said to me, as if I were listening. But who could listen with the sight before me?

A giant ship was approaching the harbor, smoke billowing out of the windows with small traces of fire poking out. Most of the men aboard were jumping out into the ocean to the safety boats approaching to help the survivors and from the screams of help, it sounded like there were still some trapped inside the ship.

"Come on, Sophie," Markl said. "Let's get a closer look,"

I nodded and started to follow Markl when I saw a familiar purple blob in an overcoat and top hat nearby. Terror filled me, and I yanked Markl back to where we were standing.

"One of the witch's henchmen is nearby," I snapped at him. He turned to look when I whispered harshly "Don't move!"

Glancing over, I saw the blob look around for a few more minutes before moving away.

"He's gone," I said softly. "Why didn't anyone else see him?"

My thoughts were interrupted by three large explosions on the ocean, followed by people screaming and pointing their fingers upwards.

"Sophie, look!" Markl said, pointing to the sky. "It's an enemy airship,"

Another explosion caused major mayhem and scared me out of my place and made me start back for Howl's house.

"Sophie, wait up!" Markl called, but I ignored him and headed inside immediately.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm…I'm fine," I said through wheezing. "Can I get…a glass of water?"

Markl rushed to the sink and grabbed one of the glasses that I had spent almost thirty minutes trying to scrub the mildew out. I sank down into the chair and tried to catch my breath and relax. My relaxing was short-lived when an ear-piercing scream came from upstairs. I wondered if there was a girl upstairs, but Howl came running downstairs with reddish hair.

"Sophie! What have you done to me? Look what you've done to my hair!" He ran at me with a clutch of hair in each hand and shoved his reddish hair in my face. "LOOOOOK!" he yelled.

"Uh…what a pretty color?" I said.

"It's hideous! You completely ruined the potions in my cabinet!"

I paused and realized what had happened. "I…I just cleaned in there, I wasn't trying to sabotage you or anything…"

"Wrong, wrong! I told you not to get carried away!" His eyes suddenly filled with tears and he sank down into the chair. "And now I'm repulsive…I can't live like this…"

Howl sat there and sobbed like a child and I watched his hair suddenly turn a dark copper brown and eventually black. I couldn't see his face, but it seemed to me like he looked even sexier than with blonde hair.

"Oh, come on, Howl, it's not so bad-I think you look just as hot with this hair, maybe even hotter," I told him.

"I give up," I heard him whisper. "I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful…"

I was about to ask him what he meant when suddenly the walls began to shake and shadows began to appear out of nowhere…

"Oh, God, no," I whispered to myself.

"He's calling the spirits of darkness," Markl said. "I saw him do this once when a girl dumped him,"

I wasn't paying attention-it looked just like…just like…

"_Please let me go," I said the sobs and screams making my throat and chest hurt. "Please, I want my mommy, please!" _

"_That's it, I've had it!" _

_I was yanked from the small dank cot in the corner and brought to the middle of the room with a long string of chains dangling down, the sound of the metal scratching against the floor making my ears cringe. I was set by them and felt them begin to be wrapped around my wrists and I screamed even more. _

"_Let me go! I want my mommy, let me go, let me go!" _

_The hard slap across my face silenced me, but I still cried and wheezed. _

"_You know I don't like hitting you, Sophie," he said to me. "But your ugly crying face puts me to shame. If you don't want this to happen, then you need to stop crying-you're beautiful face is so ugly with your face red and swollen," _

_He finished chaining my wrists together and heard the click of the padlock locking the chains together, making me cry harder. _

"_Please," I begged softly as I could with sobs erupting from my chest. "Please let me go, please," _

"_I'll be back with your breakfast in the morning, now stay like this, understand?" _

"_But-" _

_Another slap and I finally decided it was time to shut up. _

"_Good, any more acting up and it's back to the fireplace," _

_The thought being back into that hot fireplace with burning coals under my feet made me stop crying altogether. _

_The door slamming made my ears hurt and I was left alone in the dark. I tried yanking on the chains in hopes of release that just managed to get crushed. I stood there, my arms already beginning to ache. I looked up and saw shadows suddenly begin to crawl at me with sharp claws and low growls. I would have screamed if not for the fear of being brought to the fireplace. I stood there and cried as softly as I could._

"_Mommy, where are you? Mommy, mommy, mommy…" _

"Sophie!"

I jerked my eyes open and looked to see Markl stare up at me. I looked and saw that the shadows were gone and the walls were no longer moving, but Howl was just simply oozing green slime…okay…

"You gotta be kidding me…" I mumbled, suddenly realizing what was happening.

"Is he dead?" Markl asked.

"He's fine, he's just throwing a tantrum," I said. "Help me,"

Together, Markl and I managed to move the chair toward the stairs and I grabbed onto Howl and started to drag him up the stairs.

"Come on, Howl," I said. "You can still walk,"

A sudden plop drew my attention behind me and I saw the towel that had been wrapped around Howl's waste was on the ground…meaning…

_Do not look down, do not look down, do not look down…_

I managed to get Howl into the bathroom with Markl and ordered Markl to get him cleaned up before shutting the door. I looked at the pile of green slime lining the walls and sighed softly, realizing I would have to mop it up.

As I went downstairs for the mop, Calcifer spiked up I flames.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"What was what about?" I said, but already knowing what he was talking about.

"You just stood there with your eyes closed for a few minutes-you know how much you scared Markl? Markl thought one of the spirits of darkness were possessing you or something,"

"Well, they weren't," I grabbed the mop and headed upstairs before Calcifer could ask any more questions.

I scrubbed and usually I would hum a song I knew. This time, all I could hear in my voice was my memory's voice.

"_Mommy…mommy…mommy…"_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, I woke up to be pestered even more by Calcifer and Markl about the stupid thing that happened last night-no, not the stupid thing that happened with Howl. No, I mean when I hallucinated about a memory of mine. I avoided it at all costs-I didn't want to lose my job because they thought I was emotionally unstable.

…even though I sort of was emotionally unstable.

But after a few years in this world, I'd managed to get a hold of my hallucinations. I had a few nightmares, but I managed to control myself from screaming-the man was gone. There was no way for him to find me in this world, as I have no real idea of how I got here myself.

After making breakfast for Markl, I waited a few minutes for Howl before deciding to go upstairs and check on him.

"How was Howl after we managed to get him to bed?" I asked Markl. After Markl had cleaned up Howl, helped Markl get Howl into his room so Markl could get him a fresh nightshirt and get him to sleep.

"He kept mumbling in his sleep about how 'ugly' he was; he did the same thing after that girl dumped him…but I think it's a lot more easier with you here, Sophie,"

"I bet," I said, smiling softly. I couldn't imagine this poor little guy having to handle Howl all by himself-how did he manage this far without someone to help?

Taking my mind off of it, I filled a small kettle with milk, heated it up and filled a teacup for Howl to sip, figuring it would help.

I knocked on Howl's bedroom door and waited for an answer.

Nothing.

I knocked again-"Howl, I'm coming in," I called to let him know I was entering. I opened the door and viewed his room for the second time.

Wow….just wow.

His room was absolutely covered with toys and knick-knacks of all shapes and sizes. Toys and balls with papers all over the place some I couldn't even begin to identify. I couldn't observe them for too long though;

"Nice room," I told the Howl in bed.

No answer.

"Uh…I brought some warm milk…you want a sip?"

Howl shook his head no.

I went ahead and put the teacup on what little room was on his bedside table. "I'll leave it here," I told him. "Drink it before it gets cold, okay?" I turned around to head out.

"Don't leave me, Sophie,"

The sound sent shivers down my spine...something about Howl just put me on edge…I wondered if he'd ever recognize me as the girl he dragged into his stupid life.

"You want some milk?" I asked softly.

Howl shook his head softly again.

I saw a chair by his bed that had a stack of papers on top of it-I picked them up and carefully set them down on the floor before I sat down. I noticed one of the weird little trinkets hanging above Howl's bed started spinning and glowing mysteriously. Before I could question it any more, Howl gently opened his eyes.

"The Witch of the Waste is looking for me…" he said softly.

No shit, Sherlock.

"I saw some of her henchmen at the port yesterday morning," I said.

"Truth is, I'm a coward," Howl began. "All the stupid junk in here is just more sorcery to keep her away…I'm scared to death,"

His confession made me realize that even though Howl was an extremely powerful wizard, he was really just a normal person. A normal person who felt love, happiness and of course, fear.

"Why is the Witch of the Waste trying to hunt you down?" I asked Howl.

"She seemed extremely beautiful and interesting," Howl explained. "So, I approached her…but she terrified me, and I ran away,"

So…he tried to flirt with her, but found out something about her that scared him so much he went into hiding? Or was it something else? This was…a little vague. Even so, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Now the King has ordered me to appear before him," Howl continued. "As Pendragon and Jenkins,"

"How many aliases do you have, Howl?" I asked.

"Enough to guarantee my freedom,"

I paused, trying to think this through. "Just refuse the King's invitation," I said.

"See that?" Howl asked, pointing to a small piece of paper o a dartboard above the bed with knifes and a pair of scissors to show his hatred for the paper. "It's the oath I took at the Royal Sorcery Academy; I have to report to the King whenever I'm summoned,"

I paused again, trying to think when a sudden thought came to me. "Hey, Howl, maybe you should see the King!" I claimed. Why hadn't I thought of it before?

"Eh?" Howl said.

"Say it to his face, stand up and be a man!" I said, starting to get ahead of myself. "This war is ridiculous, stupid, pointless! I refuse to help you, no matter how much you beg, how much you cry, you'll get nothing out of me!"

Howl rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sophie, you don't know what their like…" he suddenly looked at me. "And are you suggesting I'm not 'manly' enough for you?"

"Err…but he's our King," I said, avoiding his 'manly' comment. "A King only thinks of what's best for his people, right?"

Howl closed his eyes again, only to have him shoot up out of bed. "I know!" he yelled. "Go to the palace for me, in my place!"

"Uh…say what?" I said. I learned early that I shouldn't use modern terms but…really, my only thought was 'what'?"

"Just say you're Pendragon's mother…err, sister," Howl explained. "Just tell them that your son is a good-for-nothing coward and would be useless in a war! Maybe Madame Sullivan will even give up on me!"

"Madame who?" I asked. "And are you suggesting I look old?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I had no say in this-I was off to pose as Howl's sister and tell the royal guard that Howl was unfit to participate in war. I tried to argue, mostly because I was scared to death someone would recognize me and throw me in jail.

"Calcifer, what am I going to do?" I hissed. "If I go to the palace, some guard is sure to know it's me and throw me in jail before I could even try to defend myself!"

"Relax, sugar cube, I've got the perfect thing,"

"Sugar cube? Where the-AAAAAH!"

I was interrupted by the weirdest spray of green dust in my face. I coughed and then sneezed before wheezing. "What the hell was that?" I screeched.

"It's a special spell deflecting powder-unfortunately, it's only temporary, so it'll probably only last until tomorrow. You'll have plenty of time to go to the palace and get back without anyone accusing you of murder,"

A warning would have been nice.

"Ready to go, Sophie?" Howl had come downstairs, I guess to see me off, with a blanket wrapped around him.

I put on my cloak-at first I wouldn't wear it in public because I was afraid someone would recognize me as the girl with the custom made dresses who always wore a cloak, but I noticed a few other people wearing cloaks, so I decided that it must not be that odd and I wouldn't stand out if I wore it.

"You're wearing that?" Howl asked. "After all the magic I used to make your dress pretty?"

"Shut up," I told him. "I premade your guy's dinner, seeing as I have no idea when I'll be back," I said the last part with a glare at Howl. When I asked him, he said very bluntly that he had no idea. "It's sitting by the fireplace so you can heat it up when you guys are hungry,"

I started to head out, listing commands as I walked to the door. "Markl, make sure Howl eats dinner and cleans himself before he goes to bed and then get yourself to bed _on time_," Yesterday, after seeing Markl stay up until the crack of dawn, we listed an appropriate time-10 o'clock-when he had to go to bed. "Howl, don't give Markl any trouble about this, seeing as how you seem to act more childish than he does,"

"Hey!" Howl said.

"Calcifer, be careful when you make dinner-help Markl out if he has a question and please don't burn the house down,"

"I make no promises," Calcifer said.

"And for the love of all that is Holy, just don't kill each other!" I said and walked down the stairs. "I'll be back as soon as I can,"

"Yes, mother," Calcifer called.

I ignored Calcifer's remark and turned the dial to the red color. Just as I was beginning to open the door, Howl slipped behind me and put his head on my shoulder. He gently took my hand and slipped a small finger on my hand.

_What a stupid time to propose! _Was my first thought.

"This ring will guarantee your safe return," Howl said softly.

Oh…right…he he…I wonder what made me think 'propose'…the ring wasn't even on my ring finger.

"Don't worry-I'll follow behind you in disguise," Howl then opened the door and ushered me out onto the streets of the Imperial City.

I glanced at the ring on my finger. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to work?" I mumbled before beginning the long walk to the castle. As I walked, I began to mumble to myself as I walked without realizing that I probably looked insane.

"I wonder what Howl disguised himself as?" I mused. "Surely not a crow…" I glanced at a few pigeons. "Not a pigeon, he's too flamboyant for that," Just then, a giant breeze blew up my dress and I saw one of the soldiers flying a one-man aircraft with a woman behind him giggling flirtatiously.

I frowned to myself. "Found him,"

I kept walking till I saw the castle-but I still had such a long way to go-they should run buses, they'd make a fortune out of the people who wanted to avoid walking all the way to the castle.

I kept walking, but after a while, I noticed a little dog was following me and I realized it may be Howl.

"Howl?" I asked. "You disguised yourself as a dog?"

The dog huffed in response, which I guess was a yes.

"You couldn't think of something a little more useful?" I asked.

Just then a small purple carriage with two men carrying it came up. The curtain pulled back to reveal the face of my misery.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped.

"My, such horrid manners," The Witch of the Waste grinned evilly at me. "I'm surprised you managed to escape and your even working as a cleaning lady for Howl-I'd turn you in myself if I weren't pressed for time. Did you deliver my note to Howl?"

"Yes, and he's scared shitless because of it,"

The witch laughed. "How wonderful, please give him my best-what, pray tell, are you doing in the castle?"

I bit my lip and tried to think of something quick. I couldn't let her know that I was posing as Howl's sister; she'd give me away within a heartbeat. "Howl told me of a wizard who might know how to break the spell you cast on me, so I'm going to see him…and yourself?" I tried to avoid her asking any questions.

"I received a royal invitation-the court has finally realized my true talent,"

"If you're so great, why don't you break the spell you put on me?"

"I'm sorry, dear; my specialty lies in casting spells, not breaking them-I'll see you around then," The curtain on the carriage closed and moved ahead.

"Hey, get back here!" I yelled and turned to Howl. "If I didn't have you to worry about, I would have killed her myself-that I would be willing to go to jail for,"

I kept walking and up ahead, I could see the mysterious purple blobs carrying the Witch's carriage melt or something like that. I could hear the man at the top of the stairs yelling about her having to go on foot. As I approached the carriage, I heard a loud sneeze before the Witch emerged from the carriage and began to climb the stairs. I followed quickly behind her and began to climb only to hear a slight cough behind me.

Turning around, I saw Howl, waiting at the bottom of the steps.

"Are you kidding me?" I said. I sighed and went back down and picked Howl up and began to climb the stairs and gasped a little. "Howl," I said, breathing harshly. "Why are you…so heavy?" It was true-the dog Howl, who looked like he would only weigh a few pounds now felt like carrying an armload full of bricks.

Even so, I quickly passed the Witch and kept going.

"Wait," I heard her call. "Help…I can't make it,"

"What'd you say?" I called back. "You figure out how to break the spell on me?"

"I told you, I don't know how!"

"Then start studying!"

I continued climbing up, ignoring the Witch's pleas for help. When I reached the halfway point and felt like my arms would break, I gently placed Howl down. "Let me rest a second, okay?" I told him before looking back at the Witch. Even though she was still close to the bottom of the steps, I could see the sweat pouring off of her and hear her gasping for breath and struggling to take each step.

"Why don't you just give up?" I called. "You're killing yourself; you'll never make it up here!"

"Not a chance in hell!" The Witch called back. "I've waited…thirty years for an invitation-ever since that Sulliman banished me to the Wastes!"

"Well, good luck then!" I said with bitterness and a touch of happiness at seeing her misery. "According to all the guards in this kingdom, I'm not safe enough to help anyone!"

"You horrible bitch!" I heard her call. "Next time, I'll just kill you myself!"

"Good luck with that!" I yelled. I finally managed to reach the top and set Howl down before sitting on the steps and trying to catch my breath. I took another deep breath and stood back up to see the Witch was actually getting closer. Seeing her struggle made me feel slight sympathy for her, so I decided to cheer her on.

"You're almost there!" I called out.

"Honored guest," A guard approached me. "Please follow me,"

"You should help her," I told him. "She looks like she's about to pass out,"

"I'm forbidden to provide such assistance," the guard said.

"How rude, the king himself invited her," I said. "Come on!" I called to the Witch. "Hurry up; I won't wait for you forever! Are you a witch or some lazy ass couch potato? No wonder you have cronies carry you around everywhere!"

"Oh, will you just piss off?" the witch said as she approached the top, sweat pouring off of her and gasping for breath.

"What happened to you?" I said. "You look older than-"

"I swear to God, if you finish that sentence I'll turn you in and you'll be thrown in jail with a bashed in skull,"

…Damn…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The witch and I actually began walking into the castle together; her body went from being in her mid thirties and tall to short, and her skin sagging like wrinkled fabric. It shocked me, but I decided it was better not to question it-don't want to make her mad now, did I?

"Ms. Pendragon and the Witch of the Wastes!" someone announced.

"You brought a fake alibi?" The witch asked. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Uh, I don't know why it would, that's my maiden name,"

"Is it?"

We kept walking until we reached a room with a lone chair in the middle of the room-before I could think, the Witch ran up to it and sank down.

"A chair!" she called. "It's mine!" she sank down and sighed deeply-my legs ached a little too, but I could stand a little bit longer. Before I thought about it, Howl raced past me to a distant corridor.

"Howl!" I hissed. Checking to make sure the Witch didn't hear me, I followed him to see the wall open and a young blonde boy standing in the middle of what looked like an elevator.

"Ma'am, please follow me," he said.

I followed the boy and he led me up a few floors down and down a few hallways-the walls looked like absolute splendor, like it was obvious I was in a palace. It was simply too beautiful and I kept admiring everything until I was led to a garden, which was also just as beautiful. Huge flowers and plants decorated the garden; I even think I saw a small snake. As I continued to follow the small boy, I noticed an elderly woman in the center of the room.

"You must be Ms. Gloria Pendragon, Howl's elder sister," the woman said.

_Elder? _

"I am Madame Sulliman," the woman continued. "The King's confidante,"

I curtsied, trying not to seem rude.

"You must be exhausted-please, sit,"

I sat down at a chair across from her and folded my hands gently in my lap.

"So, you are here to tell me Howl is unfit to fight in the war?" Madame Sulliman said.

I nodded, rehearsing the speech I planned in my head. "He's the laziest boy I ever met in my life-I swear, I'm embarrassed to call him my brother-I think you'll just find him useless in the war,"

Madame Sulliman paused for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that…I took Howl on as an apprentice years ago; I'd never seen such talent and passion in a student. I was so excited-I finally had someone to replace me,"

I was offered a cup of tea and I took it, even though I don't really like tea and took a small sip-it was actually kind of good. "But…?" I asked.

"But then his heart was stolen by a demon,"

_Heart stolen by a demon…Calcifer?_

"Ms. Pendragon?"

I paused at my sip of tea. "Yes?"

"That man is a menace-if he and that demon of his continue to use his powers unwisely, then Howl _will _end up like The Witch of the Waste-send her in!"

A big lump of purple was wheeled in on a small flatbed with wheels. It took me a minute to realize it was The Witch of the Waste-but she didn't look anything like before. Before, she looked like she was about to crumble and fall apart-now she looked the same, but her face was just…old. Her hair went from being bright red to grey and her face had countless wrinkles and a giant wart on her nose.

"The hell…" I said and looked at Sulliman. "What did you _do _to her?!"

"I restored her to the age she actually is," Sulliman said. "Ms. Pendragon, if Howl comes forward and offers to help in the war, then I can rid him of his demon; however, if he refuses, then Howl will be stripped of all his powers-just like her," she said the last part with a nod towards the witch.

I couldn't help but scoff. "Now I get it," I said.

"You find this amusing, Ms. Pendragon?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," I said, standing up. "I thought Howl was just being a sissy about coming here, but now I get it-he just didn't want to fall into your trap,"

"My trap?" Sulliman said, looking a little amused.

"You lure witches and wizards here with invitations from the king, then you strip them of all their powers!"

"Oh?"

I continued, on a roll. "Howl won't come here, you dumbass. He doesn't need your help or anyone's. He can fix his problem with the demon on his own, I know he can! He's a lot stronger than you or anyone else thinks or knows; he's the strongest man I've ever known,"

"Now I see," Sulliman said. "You're in love with Howl…"

"In lo-" I said, feeling myself blush. "Tha-that's sick! I'm his sister!"

"Well, they allow that sort of thing in Alabama, don't they?"

Alabama?

I didn't have time to defend myself because a tall man with a thick bright orange mustache entered the greenhouse.

"Your majesty," Sulliman said, bowing to the man.

"As you were," he said. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you," Sulliman said. "I'm surprised; you rarely come visit me,"

"I'm getting some air-I can't stand those ridiculous war meetings," the man-the king, I guess-looked over his shoulder at me. "Who is this?"

"This is Ms. Gloria Pendragon, Howl's older sister,"

"Ah," The King said and walked over to me and I immediately curtsied. "Thank you," he said. "But I think we're not going to use magic to win this war-Sulliman's magic is strong and protects this palace from the bombs, but they just get deflected on human civilians. Can't have that now, can we Sulliman?"

"My, you're majesty, how generous you are today," Sulliman said.

"Sulliman!"

I stood, shocked to see a man that looked just like the king come over to us with a piece of paper in his hand. "Check out these new battle strategies," he said. "This time we'll get them for sure…" the king stopped when he saw the man that looked just like him standing next to me and started cracking up. "That double gets better every time, Sulliman! Keep up the good work!"

"You're majesty," Sulliman said as the man-the King-left.

I was stunned…if that was the king then…

"So nice to see you again, Howl," Sulliman said.

"You're looking well, Madame Sulliman," Howl's voice came out of the green uniform and I realized what had happened.

"Rather weak disguise," Sulliman said. "Didn't I teach you better?"

"I'm not trying to outwit you," Howl wrapped his arm around my shoulders, his disguise gone and his real face showing itself to me. "I kept my oath-I reported when summoned. Now I'll take my sister and go,"

"I'm afraid not," Sulliman said and smashed her staff down on the ground. Ocean waves came at us and we were soon submerged-after awhile, it became clear that instead of being underwater, we were now floating in the sky. I could feel the Witch of the Waste grabbing my dress and pulling, yelping that she was gonna fall. But I was too scared to kick her off.

"Don't look down," Howl said. "Or they'll pull you under," As if to prove his point, the Witch suddenly screamed and the weight on my ankle was gone. I gulped slightly and huddled a little closer to Howl.

"It's time to show your sister what you really are," Sulliman's voice echoed around us and stars began shooting themselves at us. They flew past us and exploded around Howl, making tiny popping sounds when they burst. Howl started breathing deeply when I began hearing chanting in a language I didn't recognize. Howl tightened his grip on my shoulder as shapes of tiny people began dancing around us and I knew this wasn't good.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw claws and feathers tear out of Howl's hand. I looked and saw his face now growing more and more feathers-fabric tore and I briefly saw wings appear behind him.

Madame Sulliman's image appeared in the sky with her staff poised and ready to throw at us.

"Howl, stop!" I screamed and covered his eyes. "Don't!"

Suddenly, we were taking off in the sky and flying towards what looked like empty sky-soon a small hole appeared and I saw the ceiling of the greenhouse. We crashed through the glass and Howl's wings went away and feathers disappeared. Gracefully, we floated down onto one of the small planes soldiers fly.

"Hold on," Howl said as we took off. "Sophie, sit up here,"

I crawled to the front seat and sat down, trying to keep the skirts of my dress from blowing in my face.

"Sophie, take the wheel," Howl said.

"What?" I said. "No way, you're the flier!"

"They're gaining on us," I looked behind to see a small group of the soldiers flying behind us. Oh, shit.

"Take the wheel," Howl said and I did so. "I'll create a distraction-then you can fly this to my castle in the Wastes,"

"What?" I shrieked. "I don't know the way, what makes you think I do?"

"That ring I gave you? It'll lead you back to the castle-all you have to do is summon Calcifer with your heart,"

"Summon Calcifer with my heart?" I said. "That is the cheesiest thing I ever heard!" Suddenly, the ring started tingling and I looked-it was glowing and a straight line formed in front of me.

"Follow that light to the Wastes," Howl said.

"I can't believe you!" I said, glancing at him. "Why did you send me if you were coming here yourself?"

"Are you kidding? That woman terrifies me-I couldn't face her on my own" Howl leaned down and put his head on my shoulder. I couldn't see but I was positive my face was turning red. "You saved me, Sophie…I was in real trouble back there," It took me a few seconds to realize that Howl had let go of the wheel and I jerked to the right.

"Don't let go!" I screamed as we swerved to the right-I turned the wheel like mad to go the other direction but we still slammed into a bell tower.

"You're good," Howl said, laughing.

"Shut up!" I yelled.

"We've got a good lead now," Howl said and leaned down by me again. "I'm going to give you ten minutes of invisibility-use it wisely," Howl suddenly stretched his arm to the side and I saw him make a clone of us that swerved to the right.

"Howl!" I yelled, noticing that the ship was beginning to turn invisible. Howl's answer to my yell was a salute and flying away.

I continued to steer and managed to avoid a tree as I flew into the sky, invisible to everyone but myself.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A few hours had gone by-I was still flying the plane, following the red beam of light which was supposed to lead to Howl's castle. At first, I thought I was just getting myself more lost and Howl had made some stupid vendetta against me or something and had given me the ring just so I could get more lost-but pretty soon, I noticed lights and heard a familiar train that usually passed by the old hat shop I worked at in Market Chipping and soon I was passing over the town and making my way to the Wastes.

When Howl had first flown off, I had been flying steadily for a few minutes when I heard a small cough behind me-somehow Sulliman's dog had followed us onto the plane and was sitting on the back chair of the plane, staring at me. I was this close to tossing him, but I loved animals and I especially loved dogs…I just couldn't find it in my heart to do it.

"Get off," I told him, hoping somehow he would obey me, but he stayed on the plane and was still there as I passed over Market Chipping.

"That's Market Chipping," I said to no one in particular (maybe the dog?). "We're almost home,"

Sulliman's dog coughed in response causing me to glance back at him and glare slightly. "Don't try to act cute, mutt, I'm still not going to trust you-you are that evil hag's dog,"

The dog coughed in response and I rolled my eyes and continued to fly. Pretty soon, I heard familiar gears and loud machinery close by and I saw Howl's castle in the distance. I guess Howl really did know what he was doing? And to my relief, Markl was at a balcony on the castle and was waving his arm.

"Sophie, here!" He yelled.

That's when it hit me-I had no idea how to land the thing-rather than crash into the castle, I decided to try flying around the castle in circles until I figured out how to land.

"Uh, Markl?" I called, flying around and around.

"What?"

"Don't suppose you know how to land this thing, do you?"

"…uh…"

I looked around, looking for a lever, a button, s_omething_!

"Wait, I know! There should be a lever next to the wheel-pull it!"

I found the lever and pulled it-the engine sputtered and I thought I found the brakes-but then it sputtered some more and the plane began going faster and faster.

"Markl, I don't think that did it!" I screamed as I flew past him. I tried to steer the plane but the steering began losing control of itself or something and next thing I knew I was crashing into the main room in the castle.

"Sophie!" I was stuck in some rubble and Markl was looking for me-I followed Heen as he made his way through the crushed rubble and into the actual castle-moving aside some of the rubble, I broke through and saw Markl in on the floor scanning the rubble, clearly looking for me.

"Markl," I said to get his attention. "I'm home!"

"Are you hurt?" he asked me as I slipped on some of the rubble and landed next to him.

"I've been better," I said, rubbing some of the crumbled rock out of my hair. "Thanks for coming to meet us,"

"Us?"

On cue, Heen came up to me and crawled into my lap.

"Uh, say hi to our new pet, Markl," I said.

. . .

"_It hurts…let go,"_

"_Shut up,"_

"_You're hurting me!"_

"_I said shut up!"_

"_Get off me!"_

"_Soph…you're so beautiful when you're scared,"_

"_OW! STOOOOP,"_

"_Your stupid parents…I told them they would just ruin you but they wouldn't listen. But its okay now, isn't it? You'll grow to love me just like the others did," _

"_STOP IT, LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

"_Soph…am I going to have to give you the belt again?"_

"GET OFF ME!" I screamed and thrashed. The world that existed in my past and nightmares was gone; I was back in Howl's living room on the couch that was now in front of the fireplace; only Howl was standing over me with a shocked look on his face.

"I was just making sure you were okay," Howl whispered.

I shook my head, realizing it was one of those memory-dreams again. "I'm fine," I said. "You're back?"

"Yeah…I'm going to bed though-you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," I said softly. "Course,"

. . .

It was the next morning-I had spent most of the morning getting the stupid plane out of the living room and the rest of the morning making breakfast for Markl and me and giving the scraps to Heen. I was finally starting to relax when Howl came down the stairs and greeted us with his presence.

"Morning, everyone,"

"Morning, master Howl," Markl chipped happily.

"Hi," I said, still peeved at him for yesterday.

"Come on, Sophie, you're not still mad, are you?"

"No, I'm just giving you the cold shoulder for no reason at all," I snapped.

"Come on, Soph," Howl said and I immediately prickled at the nickname.

"_Soph…Soph…"_

"Don't ever call me that," I snapped.

"What?" Howl looked confused and a little hurt but it was for a good reason-it wasn't his fault he didn't know about me or my past, but…

"Don't call me Soph," I glared at him, trying to illustrate my point. "EVER,"

"Fine, I won't," Howl said, knowing better then to ask questions; he noticed Sulliman's dog sitting by my feet, eating what scraps I was giving him. "Is that Sulliman's dog at my table? Why would you let it in, Calcifer?"

"Don't look at me," Calcifer said. "It crashed in here along with Sophie,"

Howl paused for a minute before laughing and walking over to the giant hole in the wall where the couch used to be. "I knew she'd make a good pilot,"

"Shut up," I snapped.

"Easily fixed," Howl mumbled, ignoring me. "It doesn't matter anyway-we're moving!"

"Moving?" I asked.

"Alright!" Markl said. "I'm sick of being stuck in the middle of nowhere,"

"But you have Porthaven and Kingsbury to go to," I said. "Right?"

"Not anymore; Madame Sulliman's hot on our trail because _someone _couldn't keep her cover-she's going to find out about my other alias and soon they'll be pounding down our door looking for me, so we're going to have to hurry,"

"Someone couldn't keep her cover?" I asked, huffing a little. "Might I ask what _that _is supposed to mean?"

"We don't have time for your lovey dovey bickering," Calcifer said.

"Our _what?_" I yelled, but couldn't help but blush…when he said love…I wasn't in love with Howl. I _wasn't_…

…right?

. . .

Howl finished drawing a white circle with a triangle and a strange symbol in the middle of the triangle while Markl and I sat on the table, Heen sitting in Markl's lap. Howl stood up, shoving the chalk in his pocket. "That should do it," he said and went over to Calcifer-he picked up the iron shovel by the fireplace and used it to pick Calcifer up and carried him over to the center of the drawn circle.

"On my mark," Howl said-he faced forward and lifted one arm up; suddenly, Calcifer grew twice as large and changed colors as the drawn circle Howl was standing on began to glow-

The next thing I knew, the house was beginning to morph in front of my eyes-the ceiling stretched and began to extend, making the room look bigger. Out of nowhere a couch and two chairs landed by the fireplace- I heard a loud pop and saw another room appear next to the front door followed by another pop which created a small bathroom next to the stairs; then it all stopped and the circle Howl was standing on stopped glowing.

"Moving's done," Howl said. "You can get up now,"

"Wow," Markl exclaimed, getting off the table and began to spin around. "This is great, Master Howl; it's _huge_,"

Then I saw it-out the front window was a giant field with lots of flowers and a small creek that passed through; and not too far away, I saw a familiar town that was probably only a fifteen minute walk to-I was close to Market Chipping…

"This is…" I mumbled.

"I added a bedroom for you, Sophie," Howl said and opened a door-the door led to an exact replica of the room I would sew hats in when I was still working at the hat shop.

"I…I don't understand," I said, trying to wrap my head on the situation.

"Do you like it?" Howl asked.

"Um…sure?"

"Great!" Howl clapped his hands and walked off, me trailing not far behind. Markl and Heen were running throughout the house, marveling at the small changes in the décor and space; when they opened the front door, Markl ran outside.

"Alright, a court yard!" Markl said happily.

"That shop's ours too," Howl said while leaning against the doorjamb.

…shop?

"Heen, come on!" Markl and Heen continued to play and laugh happily while Howl closed the door.

"See the new color on the dial? It means there's a new portal," Howl changed the color dial and opened the door to bright sunshine and lots of flowers; he turned to me while I was stupefied in amazement.

"It's a present for you…" Howl said and held his hand out to me. I couldn't think of what else to do but take it and follow him into the field of wild flowers, every kind of wild flower you could imagine right below my feet. The sky was perfectly blue with puffs of clouds slowly moving on by; not far ahead there was a giant pond with bits of island in the middle and the water was so clear you could look at the water and think you were staring at the sky.

"Did your magic make this place?" I asked.

"A little," Howl said. "Just to help the flowers grow,"

We continued to walk in the field-the place seemed oddly familiar, yet I couldn't place it. It was like I had been there before, but I didn't know how I could have forgotten such a beautiful place. We came over a hill and saw a small cottage with a mill turning water.

"That's kinda cute," I said.

"I came here to be an apprentice to my uncle; you can come whenever you like now," the words were happy, but the way Howl sounded was like he was speaking at a funeral. When he tried to pull me forward to show me the cottage, I let my hand slip out of his. He turned back to look at me, confused. "What's wrong?"

"…are you leaving us or something?" I asked.

Howl didn't say anything and just stared at me.

"Howl, tell me what's going on-Madame Sulliman said you were a monster…is it true?"

Howl turned towards me a little more and smiled at me-but even the smile looked false. I knew it; despite not having known him that long, I knew that fake smile when he tried to convince me to do something and say it wasn't dangerous at all.

"I'm just trying to make sure you all live comfortably," Howl said. "You'll be okay for the rest of your lives-with all the flowers in this field, you could easily start a flower shop; right? I bet you'd be good at it!"

I gave Howl a look. "Why do I get the feeling I'm never going to see you again?"

Howl's fake smile faded as he stared at me, knowing I could see the truth.

"Howl…I want you to know I don't care,"

"What?"

"I don't care if you're a monster," I said. "I know you-you're childish and cowardly sometimes, but you're also caring and easily amused. You're filthier than anyone I've ever met, but you're funny and you're actually braver than you let on,"

Howl looked like he wanted to say something but stopped suddenly-he turned his head to the right and held his hand up to silence my question of what was wrong because I soon found out-not far off, there was a military ship flying through the beautiful valley shattering any peace we had earlier.

"Of all the places to do their stupid raids, they pick here," Howl mumbled venomously.

The ship flew over us and we saw hundreds of black oval shaped objects stuck tightly at the bottom of the ship.

"Oh, hell no," Howl said. "Not in this valley," Howl held up his hand and waved it in front of the ship-a few seconds went by when suddenly the ship's odd shaped wings stopped moving; I could hear loud beeps and people shouting in the ship.

"What'd you do?" I asked. "Is it gonna crash?"

"Nah, just messing with them a little," Howl said, smiling and laughing to himself. "Maybe that wasn't the best idea?"

It was then that I noticed there was some kind of spout thing on the side of the ship that was spitting out tiny balls-the balls extended their wings and turned into monsters and began flying towards us. "You think?" I asked.

"We should go," Howl said and took my hand and we started running. Pretty soon, we were up in the air and even though I couldn't see and it was going by so fast, I swear I saw black wings on Howl's back. Pretty soon I saw the door in the middle of the field and Howl let me go and I flew down and into the castle.

The door opened and Markl and Heen came in to see me on the steps.

"What the hell is wrong with your master, Markl?" I said.

**[A/N]: Yes, I know it's been awhile, but I have had horrible writers block when it comes to this story. I promise I'll try to finish it as quickly as I can. **


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